Fishing is a sport of increasing popularity and complexity. One of the most popular and effective fishing lures is the crankbait. Crankbaits are fishing lures which have the shape of a bait fish and are designed to move through the water with an action which greatly resembles the movements of a natural bait fish. A properly operating crankbait is called a tuned crankbait. A tuned crankbait vibrates in such a manner that it appears to swim through the water as it is pulled by the fishing line. This natural swimming action is a critical factor in inducing larger species of fish to strike the lure.
Another important feature of crankbaits which makes them appealing to fishermen is that they are designed to run at particular depths of water. For example, deep diving crankbaits are designed to reach depths exceeding 20 feet, mid-range, crankbaits are designed to run from 10 to 20 feet deep and shallow running crankbaits are designed to dive from 0 to 10 feet deep. Therefore, a fisherman can fish a particular layer of water by selecting a crankbait designed to reach the desired depth. This is important because active game fish often suspend at a certain depth of water. In order to catch these fish, the fisherman must select a lure that runs through the zone where the fish are suspended.
In order to successfully use a crankbait, a fisherman must always fish with a tuned crankbait. Due to manufacturing flaws and damage associated with usage, many crankbaits in a fisherman's tackle box are out of tune. An out-of-tune crankbait fails to vibrate in a manner which simulates the natural swimming motion of a bait fish. The out-of-tune crankbait rolls to one side in an unnatural manner when it is pulled through the water. This irregular sideways motion is ineffective at triggering game fish to strike the lure. Additionally, an out-of-tune lure fails to reach the depths which the lure was designed to reach. In fact, during high speed retrieves or trolling an out-of-tune crankbait may actually skip across the surface of the water rather than dive to its designed depth. When this happens, the lure is not seen by active game fish because it fails to enter into their suspension zone. A fish cannot strike a lure if it cannot see it. Therefore, a fisherman's likelihood of catching fish is greatly dependent upon using a precisely tuned lure.
Most crankbaits can be successfully tuned by adjusting the loop of metal which forms the line tie located on the front of the lure. For example, if the crankbait rolls to the left when it is pulled through the water, the lure can be tuned by bending the line tie slightly to the right. In contrast, if the crankbait rolls to the right when it is pulled through the water, the lure can be tuned by slightly bending the line tie to the left. Through trial and error, the line tie is incrementally adjusted until the lure is perfectly in tune.
Presently, most tuning adjustments to the line tie are accomplished though the use of a pliers. However, pliers are difficult to use as tuning instruments for several reasons. First, because line ties extend such a short distance from the surface of the lure, they are very difficult to grip with a pliers. The wide construction of a typical pliers interferes with the surface of the lure. This gripping problem makes it difficult to apply the torque necessary to bend the line tie.
Second, a pliers lacks the precision required to efficiently tune lures. In order to properly tune a lure, it is often necessary to bend the line tie a mere one thousandth of an inch. A person attempting to tune the lure with a pliers must concentrate on gripping the line tie while simultaneously attempting to bend the line tie. This dual effort makes it difficult to bend the line tie the precise amount required to bring the lure back into tune. The lack of precision is intensified by the fact that each time the line tie is adjusted with a pliers, it is gripped in a slightly different location than the previous trial causing the line tie to be bent at varying locations. Each bending location has a slightly different effect on the lure's action. As a result of the lack of bending precision, multiple trials are necessary before the lure is properly tuned which causes the tuning process to become frustrating and time consuming. The excessive number of bending trials also can cause fatiguing of the line tie.
Third, the abrasive texture of many pliers often scratches the line tie. A scratched line tie will fray the attached fishing line when the crankbait is pulled through the water.
What is needed is a lure tuning device which allows an operator to quickly and precisely adjust fishing lure line ties without scratching or fatiguing the line tie.